Moscow-appointed officials in southeastern Ukraine denied that Kyiv’s forces had gained a potentially important foothold in the area before an expected counter-offensive, as Russia shelled towns along the frontline and threatened again to block exports of Ukrainian grain to world markets.
Recent posts from Russian military bloggers, many of whom have close ties to Moscow’s armed forces, “provided enough geolocated footage and textual reports to confirm that Ukrainian forces have established positions” on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson region, said the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
That was denied by Vladimir Saldo, the Kremlin-installed head of occupied territory on the eastern (left) bank of the river; Ukraine liberated the western bank late last year.
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“I officially declare that as of April 23rd, there are no enemy bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnipro ... Our military is in full control of the territory,” he said on Sunday.
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“There may be cases of landings by enemy sabotage groups that manage to take a selfie on the left bank before being hit by our artillery and destroyed or thrown into the water by our fighters,” he said.
Ukrainian military spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk did not confirm or deny whether Kyiv’s troops had gained ground in Kherson region, but called for patience before a planned counter-offensive that is expected to be extremely hard and bloody.
“I want everyone to understand that when the front line runs along such a wide, major river as the Dnipro, it is a very difficult job to overcome such an obstacle. Therefore, even the best ‘students’ of the Institute for the Study of War should be patient here,” she said.
“Everyone is really waiting for good news, and they will definitely receive it in time, but this news should be good for as many of our servicemen as possible,” she said.
Two people were hurt when Moscow’s military began a “massive” artillery strike on a village in Kyiv-controlled western Kherson region and four Russian warplanes dropped five bombs on the area, said Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine also reported Russian rocket attacks on Slovyansk in the eastern Donetsk region and in neighbouring Kharkiv province, where Moscow said its military had hit a factory where drones were being repaired. Claims from both sides could not be confirmed.
About 3,000 Russians returned to their homes on Saturday in the city of Belgorod, about 35km from the Kharkiv region, after being evacuated due to the discovery of a bomb. Two days earlier, one of Moscow’s warplanes accidentally dropped at least one bomb on the same district of the city, injuring three people and damaging residential buildings and cars.
The G7 group of major states called for the extension of a pact to facilitate shipments of Ukraine’s grain from its Black Sea ports, as a senior Russian official again threatened that his country might scrap a deal that was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July.
“We are deeply concerned about the devastating impact the war is having on food security globally,” G7 agriculture ministers said in a statement on Sunday.
“In this context, we strongly support the extension, full implementation and expansion” of the deal, they said.
Dmitry Medvedev, a former president of Russia and now deputy chairman of its security council, warned that if “idiots” from the G7 barred exports to his country, it would “imply a reciprocal ban on imports from our country, in categories of goods that are the most sensitive for the G7.
“In such a case, the grain deal – and many other things that they need – will end for them,” he said
